Twelve Days of Thankfulness - Day 2: Laughter

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."  ~~e.e. cummings

"Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face."  ~~Victor Hugo

"I am thankful for laughter, except when milk comes out of my nose."  ~~Woody Allen

"Against the assault of laughter, nothing can stand."  ~~ Mark Twain


On this eve of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for laughter.  

Even on the darkest day, laughter is like a ray of sunshine.  When going through treatment, or any other rough patch in life, it truly helps to surround yourself with humor and laughter. Listen to your favorite comic, watch a funny movie, or just go to YouTube and find videos that make you laugh.  Who could stay grouchy watching this??  (By the way, Micah's dad in this video is ripping up a job rejection letter!)

Smile at someone today.  Make someone laugh.  You never know how it could change their outlook.  Here's to laughter!

Twelve Days of Thankfulness - Day 3: Music

"I was born with music inside me. Music was one of my parts. Like my ribs, my kidneys, my liver, my heart. Like my blood. It was a force already within me when I arrived on the scene. It was a necessity for me - like food or water."  ~~Ray Charles

"Where words fail, music speaks."  ~~Hans Christian Andersen

"I think music in itself is healing. It's an explosive expression of humanity. It's something we are all touched by. No matter what culture we're from, everyone loves music."  ~~Billy Joel

"Music is a moral law. It gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination, and charm and gaiety to life and to everything."  ~~Plato

On this third day before Thanksgiving, I am grateful for music.  If you know me at all, you know that music is a huge part of my life and as necessary to me as the air I breathe.  It's the "universal language".  We all have that song that can instantly transport us to another point in time, and it always amazes me that sometimes I can't remember what I had for breakfast, but I can remember every word to the songs I listened to growing up.

On the cancer journey, there are many who have "chemo playlists" to get them through treatment.  Music can pump you up or calm you down.  A great song can mean different things to different people, but everyone has a favorite.  It's a part of every culture on earth.  

Take time to listen to your favorite music this evening, or listen to something new.  Be grateful for music.

Twelve Days of Thankfulness - Day 4: All of Life's "Moments Between"

My previous post was about being thankful for each new day, from sunrise to sunset and every moment in between.  To carry that one step further, today I want to express thanks for all of life's little details, those "moments between"...the things we don't see until we take the time to notice.  Here are a few examples:

• Lying on your back watching the patterns and shapes in the clouds
• The smell of fresh cut hay
• Curling up with your cat on the couch
• The moment your favorite song comes on the radio
• A hawk floating on the spiraling air currents
• Butterflies on a purple coneflower
• Slipping between flannel sheets on the first cold night of winter
• The feel of warm sun on your skin
• A bright red cardinal against a backdrop of newly fallen snow
• The first hint of green on the willow trees
• Reading a favorite book with a child
• The smell of apple pie baking
• Your dog waiting at the door for you at the end of the work day

You get the idea.

Today I invite you to look around, stop and take notice, and be truly thankful for all of those little moments we too often take for granted.

Twelve Days of Thankfulness - Day 5: Each New Day

I'm catching up this weekend, so this is the third of three Thankfulness posts today.

With 5 days and counting until Thanksgiving, my simple gratitude is for each new day, from sunrise to sunset.  It's easy to take our time here for granted...but when you are diagnosed and faced with your own mortality, each day becomes precious because you know your days here on earth are limited.  

Today I remind myself to be thankful for each sunrise, each sunset, and every moment in between, every day.

Twelve Days of Thankfulness - Day 6: Research

With 6 days left until Thanksgiving, gratitude today is for the research that develops new medicines and treatment methods.  

I have been the direct recipient of this research, receiving  Rituxan, a monoclonal antibody derived from mice, as a treatment for my lymphoma.  Rituxan was the first Monoclonal Antibody (MAb) therapy developed for treating cancer in the 1990s.  Rituxan and the other resulting MAb therapies have truly revolutionized the treatment of blood cancers, as well as breast and colorectal cancers.

I have also contributed to research by being part of a clinical trial involving two different methods of using Rituxan to treat lymphoma.  One arm of the study gave "maintenance" treatments every few months, and the other, which I was randomized to, retreated at relapse.  

Rituxan has been a true lifesaver for me.  I have been treated 3 times in 8 1/2 years, and Rituxan has kept the disease under contol.  I am truly fortunate and very grateful for the research that led to the development of this miracle drug, and many other amazing medications and treatments.  Many thanks to the scientists, researchers, and clinical trial participants who make new treatment options available, and could possibly lead to a cure!

Twelve Days of Thankfulness - Day 7: Hope

“Where there's hope, there's life. It fills us with fresh courage and makes us strong again.”

 ~Anne Frank

Today I'm thinking about hope, one of the strongest emotions known to humans.  When you look for things to be grateful for, it puts you in a more hopeful state of mind.  

One of my favorite quotes comes from Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, teacher, author, poet and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh - "Hope is important because it can make the present moment less difficult to bear. If we believe that tomorrow will be better, we can bear a hardship today."  Even when things seem dark, the human instinct is to have hope for something better right around the corner.  Without hope, it would be difficult to move beyond the hardships in life.

So today, sow gratitude and reap hope!  

Twelve Days of Thankfulness - Day 8: Higher Power

Eight days until Thanksgiving, and counting.  Today's gratitude is for a "higher power", the power that is greater than ourselves alone.  

Whether we believe in a higher power in the form of one supreme being, a deity, or collective consciousness, this belief can help see us through our darkest hours and give us the strength and faith to keep going.  

Today, just take a moment...breathe in and breathe out...and offer up thanks.

"When God Smiles" - Photo by Sara Luptowski of Through Sara's Eyes Photography